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Verizon may not be releasing its first LTE-only phones until 2016, but it's already preparing for the day when its legacy CDMA and EV-DO networks ride into the sunset. Wireless tracker Milan Milanovic has discovered that the carrier is now using LTE data in Cleveland and Manhattan on 1,900MHz frequencies that were previously reserved for EV-DO (3G) service. Don't expect more bandwidth in your neck of the woods just yet, though. Verizon tells GigaOM that this is just a test -- it's not yet ready to make an official transition.

LTE isn't just about getting incredibly fast data speeds on our smartphone or tablet. Sure, that's been what the technology's been primarily used for ever since it was introduced a few years ago, but it's capable of providing crystal-clear phone calls as well through a service known as Voice over LTE (VoLTE). The catch is that it's up to each carrier to provide the service. AT&T and T-Mobile have rolled out the capability already, and Verizon announced today that it's nearly ready to flip the switch on VoLTE nationwide, and it'll happen in a matter of weeks. Whether that means two or fourteen, Verizon won't say. But when it's ready, this functionality will be pre-loaded on new devices and pushed to existing phones in a downloadable update (provided the hardware is compatible, which many devices are).

It's not everyday that you get to mill around rooftops like Spider-Man, so when Sprint invited us to visit one of its LTE cell sites in San Francisco, our answer was a resounding "yes." While the company's been testing LTE in the city by the bay for several months now, we're still a few weeks away from an official rollout. Cell site SF33XC664 is located high above Van Ness Avenue with phenomenal views of the Golden Gate and Telegraph Hill. Sprint showed us around the various pieces of equipment and let us run some speed tests. Take a look at our hands-on gallery below then hit the break to join us on a complete tour.

Although ASUS recently delivered the $150 7-inch MeMo Pad and PadFone Infinity combo device, it's been a while since a premium Android tablet graced the lineup. A recent FCC filing from the company, however, reveals an unannounced K005 model equipped with the venerable Snapdragon S4 Pro (APQ8064) SoC clocked at 1.7GHz. Further details are light, but G4Games notes that it reveals AT&T-compatible GSM, CDMA and LTE connectivity and the model number suggests a 10-inch frame. Check out the FCC filing for yourself below and rest assured that we'll fill you in when we hear more.

We've come across a number of GPS-based tracking devices over the years but most are rather bulky and difficult to setup. eTrak's attempting to remedy this here at CTIA 2013 with GPS+, a fob-like product that combines WiFi, cellular and GPS tracking in a small, light and easy-to-use package. The device, which is about the size and weight of a box of licorice-flavored Tic Tacs, features a panic button, multicolor status LED and charging contacts. It's meant to be attached to a keyring, and comes with a matching charging base which includes a standard micro-USB connector. Battery life is about 5 days per charge -- not too shabby for a product that packs WiFi, cellular and GPS radios. Speaking of which, eTrak's partnering with Verizon Wireless for CDMA-based network positioning. The company provides a web-based interface which supports geo-fencing with SMS and email notifications, along with iOS and Android-compatible apps. GPS+ will retail for $129 and be available soon (production's been under way since May 1st). Two plans will be available: $10 per month with a one-year subscription and $15 per month commitment-free. Want to know more? Don't miss our gallery below and follow the source link for more info.

2011 sure doesn't feel like that long ago, but it's evidently long enough for Verizon to realize that demand for innovation is booming in Silicon Valley. Not quite two years after the company cracked open the doors to its San Francisco-based Innovation Center, it's already looking to expand. During a briefing today at its other Innovation Center -- the one located just outside of Boston -- we were told that plans are underway to expand the SF facility. Presently, the Waltham, Mass. center is the vaster of the two, and it's Verizon's goal to stretch the California edition to (roughly) match the original location.

We were also told that the company has looked at a variety of other cities where potential Innovation Centers could be planted, and while "three to four" undisclosed metropolises are in play, the company wants to nail the execution of its first two before hastily expanding into new locales. According to Praveen Atreya, director of Verizon's Innovation Program, there's just too much involved in the incubation and launch process to not devote the proper amount of manpower to it. In other words, there's more to launching a product than just design and manufacturing; a lot of TLC goes on in order to make something have a successful shelf life.

A pure LTE world is still a long, long way off. But some countries and carriers could get there quicker than others, and indeed Verizon has revealed that it's considering launching LTE-only handsets, with no CDMA chip, within the next couple of years. Speaking to analysts at a recent Deutsche Bank event, the carrier's CFO, Fran Shammo, said his company's goal is to establish voice over LTE by the end of this year and then to "start to think" about pure LTE handsets in "late 2014". Shammo mentioned this possibility in the context of bringing out cheaper phones, and a general incentive for any carrier to leave 3G behind would be to avoid paying associated licensing fees to the likes of Qualcomm or Broadcom. If those savings eventually trickled down to us customers, and if we could breathe the clean air of the countryside without LTE dropping, then it'd certainly be an enticing prospect.

It's been almost a year since the ridiculously expensive SCH-W999 launched on China Telecom, so it's about time for Samsung to come up with yet another dual-screen flip phone to lure folks with too much money. Launched in conjunction with a big charity concert (again) earlier today is the SCH-W2013, a 1.4GHz quad-core (likely an Exynos 4412) device with Android 4.0 and dual-3.7-inch 800 x 480 Super AMOLED touchscreens. On top of that there's 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, microSD expansion of up to 64GB, 1,850mAh of battery juice, an eight-megapixel main imager plus a whopping 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera. As with many flagship devices on China Telecom, the W2013 comes with dual-SIM support: one for CDMA2000 800/1900 and the other for GSM 900/1800/1900. The damage? Well, there's nothing official yet, but it's believed to be somewhere between ¥18,000 ($2,900) and ¥20,000 ($3,210). After all, it ain't cheap to hire Jackie Chan (and he was also given a W2013 at the concert).

Just in case you thought Nokia's Lumia 822 for Verizon was an illusion, the FCC has given us good (if not quite smoking gun) evidence that it's tangible. A filing at the agency shows a device that's only listed as the RM-845 on the surface, but has Verizon's CDMA and LTE bands, measurements very close to those of the GSM-based Lumia 820 and a microSD slot that you wouldn't find in a Lumia 920 variant -- short of a surprise new model, there's little beyond the 822 that would currently fit the bill. Those disappointed that it's not a higher-end Lumia might take some consolation in seeing both the expected NFC as well as quad-band HSPA 3G for world roaming. Between the FCC and earlier photos, fans are really just left waiting for Verizon to make this new piece of its Windows Phone revival official, whether it's on October 29th or some other date.

When AT&T announced it was keeping the Lumia 920for itself, plenty of clothes were rended and teeth were gnashed. However, the ever-reliable @evleaks has shown a picture of a Nokia handset, codenamed Atlas, that's bound for Verizon's, erm, less unpopular network. While there's no official confirmation as to the phone's pedigree, we wouldn't be surprised if it was a customized version of the 820 to follow in the footsteps of T-Mobile's 810. Whatever happens, we don't have that long to find out either way.

When it rains, it pours. As if to clear the decks, Samsung has passed three devices through the FCC's scrutiny at the same time. Two, the SPH-P500 and SCH-i915, are LTE-equipped tablets respectively headed to Sprint and Verizon with a dash of mystery; their label images imply a pair of Galaxy Tab 2 variants, but both have previously been spotted in as yet unverified benchmarks that allude to much faster Snapdragon S4 processors instead of the Tab 2's TI chips. The SPH-L900's dimensions and dual-mode support make for a safer bet, pointing to what's likely the Galaxy Note II for Sprint. We're less concerned with the hardware details so much as when everything ships -- although we may get a clearer picture of the Sprint Galaxy Note II's fate around October 24th, the tablets aren't linked to any kind of public schedule, official or otherwise.

Update: Not long after Sprint's Galaxy Note sequel arrived in the FCC, US Cellular's flavor -- the SCH-R950 -- also made it through the federal approval process.

It's no secret that Samsung plans to bring the Galaxy Note II to many US carriers by mid-fall. Even so, getting there requires the FCC's blessing -- which makes us glad to see the regulator approve what might be three carriers' variants of the giant Android phone. The SGH-i317 looks to be the model for AT&T and Canadian carriers, having been greenlit for their key 3G and 4G bands while lining up with a briefly available benchmark of the device sharing the Note II's HD screen and use of Jelly Bean. The SCH-i605? Based on its inclusions of both CDMA and GSM, a lone 700MHz LTE band and a past screen capture leak, it's a dual-mode Note II destined for Verizon. As for the SGH-T889, it's even more conspicuous beyond what we've already seen: the T889's HSPA includes the 1,700MHz AWS frequency that T-Mobile will still call home for a long while. LTE likewise exists on the 1,700MHz and roaming-friendly 700MHz bands in possible instances of futureproofing. While we rarely want to say a mobile device is confirmed until we see it first-hand, the convenient timing and natures of the three FCC approvals only help to fuel suspicions that Samsung's pen-focused event on October 24th is all about the Note II's American launch.

Don't think Qualcomm is limiting its quad-core processors to superstar phones. The Snapdragon S4 Play line is growing to include the MSM8225Q and MSM8625Q, parallels to the existing two Play chips that bring four cores to entry-level devices. Besides the speed improvements that you'd expect from all that extra parallelism, the Q variants support the extra bandwidth of low-power DDR2 (LPDDR2) memory and can handle both 720p displays and movie-making. Neither is quite an all-encompassing solution, although the two will cover the bases for much of the starter demographic: while local wireless such as Bluetooth, FM radio and WiFi have to remain separate from the main processor, the two newcomers manage to pack either single-mode UMTS 3G (in the 8225Q) or dual-mode CDMA and UMTS (in the 8625Q) for their cellular fix. Along with the already promised, China-focused S4 Plus MSM8930, test samples of the faster S4 Play editions will be ready before the end of the year, with shipping phones on the way in early 2013 -- just in time to go head-to-head with a similar push by MediaTek to make quad-core the norm for a much larger slice of the population.

Wireless device certifications can sometimes give away a little more of a company's game plan than intended. Case in point: a China Compulsory Certification for the iPhone 5. The expected A1429 variant has been given initial clearance on its way to China Unicom, but there's also a previously unseen, CDMA2000-based A1442 iPhone with a similar rubber stamp. With the iPhone 4S already on the market for a CDMA-only China Telecom, it doesn't take much to suggest that the A1442 represents Apple's taller, faster smartphone already prepared for the same carrier. Neither edition of the iPhone 5 is imminent without the equally important network and radio clearances. Getting the ball rolling on multiple variants so soon after the initial launch, however, raises the chance that we'll see the iPhone 5 on more than one Chinese provider faster than the iPhone 4S took to arrive the lasttime around.

If you didn't get enough in mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This past week, Sprint hit more than one milestone that it just had to share and Nokia teased the latest app that's exclusive to Lumia owners. We then discovered a very rare BlackBerry and also learned of the latest city to get prepped for T-Mobile's LTE service. Hell, we even stumbled on a new smartphone for old people! These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of September 17th, 2012.

If you're still struggling to decide which carrier to use for your iPhone 5, you may have had some of the decision made for you. Following statements by Verizon that hinted simultaneous voice and data still wouldn't be an option despite the inclusion of LTE, which theoretically frees up CDMA for calls, we've confirmed with Apple spokesperson Natalie Harrison that this is indeed the case. It's "not yet possible" to do side-by-side CDMA voice and LTE data on a "single-radio" design like the iPhone 5, she says. That's technically true, although it may be a case of Apple wanting to keep hardware differences to a minimum between CDMA and GSM users. AnandTech founder Anand Lal Shimpi tells the New York Times that Verizon phones like the Galaxy S III, which don't have this limit, follow a different approach: where Apple uses a second antenna to improve overall reception for a single connection, Samsung and other phone makers use theirs to keep both data and voice flowing in harmony. While it's a tradeoff with its own benefits, the choice means that iPhone 5 units for Verizon, Sprint, and every other CDMA carrier still won't let you check your e-mail in mid-call without WiFi. If that's an issue, you'll have to turn to AT&T (or T-Mobile with an unlocked phone) to get your fix.

The new, lighter iPhone 5 has a bigger screen, punchier processor, LTE and dual-band WiFi, but if you plan to pick one up for Sprint's network, you can't have it all. Carrier spokesperson Michelle Leff Mermelstein told Phone Scoop that its version of HD Voice will not work on Apple's new wünderphone. While most carriers use WCDMA networks to achieve the greater definition, Sprint uses CDMA 1X Advanced, which unfortunately isn't compatible with the handset. Knowing the feature will be missing prior to launch isn't ideal, but when you're calling your friends to boast about that day-one purchase, a slight drop in clarity isn't likely to kill your geek buzz.

Apple has a tradition of timing FCC filings for new wireless mobile devices so that they appear just as soon as they've been announced, and it's not about to let up now. We've got a trifecta of approvals on the way for 2012 that start with the iPhone 5. What's hard to miss is the absurd number of cellular bands at work: as Apple had to make separate iPhone 5 models to cover every LTE carrier it supports, on top of the usual alphabet soups for CDMA and GSM, the filing combining the two devices is one of the largest we've seen to date. The addition of 5GHz WiFi support only compounds the situation.

A pair of iPods also made their appearances today, and they've been given the regulatory once-over as well. The iPod touch has the 5GHz WiFi band included and isn't special by itself, but the new iPod nano is noteworthy simply for showing up at all -- the inclusion of Bluetooth means a spin past the testing facility in addition to some wireless audio. We're still digging to see if the iPhone or new iPods have any surprises, although you can have a first-hand look through the source links.

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4gappleapple iphoneapple iphone 5apple ipodapple ipod nanoapple ipod touchAppleIphoneAppleIphone5AppleIpodAppleIpodNanoAppleIpodTouchapprovalbluetoothbluetooth 4.0Bluetooth4.0cdmadc-hspaev-doevdofccfilinghspahspa plushspa+HspaPlusiphoneiphone 2012iphone 2012 eventiphone 5Iphone2012Iphone2012EventIphone5ipodipod nanoipod touchIpodNanoIpodTouchltemobilepostcrossregulationregulatorywi-fiwifiWed, 12 Sep 2012 17:39:00 -040021|20322245http://www.tuaw.com/2012/09/12/no-virginia-you-cant-have-a-universal-lte-iphone-5/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=TUAW.com&ncid=rss_semi
http://www.tuaw.com/2012/09/12/no-virginia-you-cant-have-a-universal-lte-iphone-5/http://www.tuaw.com/2012/09/12/no-virginia-you-cant-have-a-universal-lte-iphone-5/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=TUAW.com#commentsThere might be a Santa Claus, but regarding the mythical animal known as the universal iPhone: there is none. As noted on Apple's spec page for the iPhone 5, the company will be shipping independent GSM and CDMA models of the new phone to match the LTE frequency bands of carriers worldwide. The iPhone 4S, in contrast, supported all its compatible wireless standards in one device.

There's likely to be some confusion around the iPhone 5 model numbering, since there are three actual hardware configurations but only two model numbers: A1428 and A1429. The singular A1428 model is the AT&T and Canadian GSM phone, with support for UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) and LTE on bands 4 and 17. Since this phone lacks any CDMA support, it cannot be used with Verizon or Sprint networks in the USA; it could theoretically be unlocked for 3G service via T-Mobile's seven-year roaming agreement with AT&T.

The A1429 phone has a split personality, with both CDMA and GSM units carrying the same designation; the GSM model, however, does not appear to be intended for sale in the US. It supports LTE in the Far East (Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan), Germany, Australia and the UK on bands 1, 3, and 5. The CDMA version of the A1429 works with LTE on Verizon and Sprint's networks, plus the KDDI network in Japan -- LTE bands 1, 3, 5, 13, and 25. The CDMA phone also supports the GSM bands, so it should work as a "worldphone" for international travel even if it doesn't include LTE data support outside the US and Canada.

The upshot of all this model madness: You will not be able to interoperate different iPhone 5 models on different networks in the US. Switching carriers (assuming you managed to get an unlocked device) would be limited to intra-standard swaps, and an AT&T iPhone 5 will never work on Verizon / Sprint, end of story.

After making therounds with Mr. Blurry Cam, Sprint's rumored LG LS860 'Cayenne' handset has taken a breather from its photo tour and made a stop at the FCC. The federal filing reveals that the smartphone uses LTE bands tailored for the Now Network (CDMA 850 / 1900; LTE Band 25) and totes NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, SVLTE (simultaneous voice and data) and the usual suspects of WiFi b/g/n and GPS. If other details previously gleaned from the grapevine hold true, the mobile will be powered by a flavor of Android 4.0, pack a 4-inch WVGA screen and a 1.2GHz dual-core S4 processor. There's no word from LG or Big Yellow about the phone's official debut, but its FCC appearance means that it could soon show up packaged and properly photographed in the US.

The Apple v. Samsung patent war that will seemingly never end has taken another turn today, as Apple is asking the court to add newer Samsung Galaxy hardware, including the Galaxy S III, Verizon Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 10.1 to its complaint against the Galaxy Nexus and other related devices. If you thought updated software and designs would keep these newer smartphones and tablets out of the fight -- you were wrong. Just to help you keep things straight, remember this is a separate case from the one that ended exactly a week ago with a decision in Apple's favor to the tune of more than $1 billion in damages.

At issue here are eight of Apple's utility patents that it says Samsung has infringed upon. The headliner patents at issue are '721 which covers slide to unlock, and '604, which could apply to the universal search feature Samsung has been pulling from its phones recently. Another familiar entry is the '647 patent Apple slapped HTC with in 2010, which has a vague description but applies to clicking on a phone number in an email, for example, to call it. You can read the details on each and every one in the PDF linked below, we'll be doing... anything else.

MetroPCS may not be grand in scale, but it's certainly not lacking for ambition. Just over a year after announcing its eventual transition to Voice over LTE, the carrier has officially launched its VoLTE services. Moreover, it's announcing the first sale of a VoLTE-capable handset at one of the company's Dallas / Fort Worth store locations. The Android-powered LG Connect 4G is the outfit's first (and only, for now) VoLTE-capable phone, but the operator's promising more rollouts and phone options "in the coming weeks." For the consumer, those in range of LTE signals should notice clearer calls, and it's become something of a trend to see carriers (Verizon and Sprint, for instance) moving in this direction as 2G / 3G networks start to show their age. So, DFW residents -- anyone been able to try it out? Let us know in comments below.

Having seen the next-gen Xiaomi Phone's more colorful yet rejected designs, we're rather baffled by these dull-looking certification images of the real deal. According to a filing from the good old TENAA, this new device from Xiaomi goes by the codename "2012051" and packs WCDMA radio, but that's pretty much it in terms of specs. Eagle-eyed readers may have already spotted the striking resemblance to the original Xiaomi Phone (aka MI-One Plus), but it appears to be getting an extra front-facing camera and, for some reason, a smaller speaker grill on the back. But wait, there's more! We dug up two additional models in the China Compulsory Certificate database: there's the "2012052" also with WCDMA radio, plus the "2012053" with CDMA2000/WCDMA dual radio.

Bearing in mind that the current Xiaomi Phone has three variants, our guess is that its successor will follow a similar pattern: the WCDMA flavor may again have a 1.5GHz version followed by a slower and cheaper version (much like what the Youth Edition aka MI-One is to the MI-One Plus); and depending on Xiaomi's arrangements with China Unicom and China Telecom, the CDMA flavor for the latter may or may not be launched alongside its WCDMA cousin. Let's hope for the best when this alleged quad-core phone gets announced next Thursday.

Update: Another possibility is that the design pictured above only applies to the lower-end model, which may just pack a dual-core chip (hopefully a Snapdragon S4). We shall see.

CDMA variants are, invariably, the redheaded stepchildren of the Nexus line. That is to say, those units nearly always trail behind their GSM counterparts where updates and official support are concerned. But it appears Google's picking up the pace, having just released the latest Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean (JRO03H) binaries for Verizon-branded handsets three weeks after welcoming Toro devices back into AOSP. What does this mean for the average user? Not much, since there's no real way to gauge whether or not this signals an imminent carrier-sanctioned OTA rollout, although it does bode well for those prospects. But for rooted users, the new addition is a boon, as it should pave the way for devs to cook up even more stable ROMs for your flashing enjoyment. So, that's the good news. The bad? Well, if you're on the Sprint side of the LTE Nexus divide, your handset's still not invited back to the party -- indefinitely.

If the now-deleted @evleaks is / was to be believed, Samsung is preparing a low-price handset for Sprint's big yellow network. The pulled feed revealed that the Galaxy Reverb (SPH-M950) will pack a Snapdragon MSM8655, a 4-inch 800 x 480 WVGA display, 768MB RAM, 4GB on-board storage and Ice Cream Sandwich. Photography enthusiasts should know that there's a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facer for those self-portrait moments. There's no word on if it packs LTE, but given the limited quantity of Sprint markets that can currently use the standard, we wouldn't get our hopes up just yet.